


Growing Up

by dabs_into_oblivion



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Not Actually Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 13:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dabs_into_oblivion/pseuds/dabs_into_oblivion
Summary: How Aravis and Cor decided to get married.





	Growing Up

* * *

* * *

Aravis takes the stairs two at a time, knowing she's early and also knowing that everyone is too scared of her to complain. She pushes the door open and slumps against it, grinning. "Miss me?"

 ~~Shasta~~ Cor (why does she still think the wrong name first?) looks up from his desk and grins back. "Oh good, you're here. I was about to die of boredom." He stands up, closing his book and slipping his pen into its holder. Has he always been this tall?

"Education is important for a future king," she says solemnly.

He groans. "Not you too! I've just been quarreling with Corrin. He says he absolutely won't change his mind, so I knocked him down."

Aravis stifles a giggle.

"What?" demands Cor.

"Nothing, only I would've liked to see his face after you knocked him down!"

He ruffles her hair as he passes through the door. "Race you to the stables?"

Shaking her head, she darts past him without answering.

\----------------

Aravis really doesn't mean to eavesdrop, but it's almost unavoidable at first; she's in the antechamber helping the maid pile dishes up when King Lune begins talking to his son about marriage.

There's a spluttering sound; Cor must have spat his drink out. "Married?"

"Not for a while yet," says his father, "but I won't be king of Archenland forever, and there's the succession to think of."

"You can't make me get married." Aravis imagines the stubborn, slightly petulant expression on her friend's face as he says this. "I'll -- I'll knock you down!"

She has to press her face into a dishcloth and rock back and forth to contain her mirth, silent tears streaming from her eyes.

When she's able to concentrate again, it's clear the king has made a suggestion that Cor doesn't much like. Before she can hear any more, the cook comes in to find out what's taking her maid so long, and the ensuing commotion ensures that Aravis' snooping is done with for the time being.

She knows she won't be able to sleep, so she wanders down to the stables again, to see if Hwin is awake; she isn't, but Bree is, and she asks him if he'd like to take a walk.

They've been out for some time when Bree rumbles, "What's eating you?"

She startles slightly. "Sorry, I almost forgot you were there."

He chuckles. "Proving my point."

A few moments pass before she says, "I think I might --" No, that can't be true. She was about to say she might be in love with Cor, but that's ridiculous.

"Were you eavesdropping?" asks Bree, nudging her shoulder with his nose.

She flushes, and is glad for the blanket of the darkness. "Yes, how did you know?"

If he were human, he would wave a hand, dismissing her question with his next: "What did you hear?"

She twists her hands together. "King Lune wants Cor to start thinking about marriage."

"I see." Thankfully, he stops interrogating her, at least for the moment, and she carefully and deliberately untwists her fingers and separates them, anchoring her hands in the pockets of the breeches she wears almost daily.

Their silence is companionable and lasts until they return to the stables, when Bree looks Aravis in the eye and says sternly, "Get some sleep." She thinks there might be something he's left unsaid, but she doesn't want to ask him in case she doesn't like it.

\----------------

She's beaten Cor twice in a row, and usually she'd be gloating, but today she's worried, because the dark circles under his eyes and the lack of vitality in his movements speak of something new, perhaps something dangerous. She puts their practice swords away and returns to the yard to find him still crouched where he was when she left.

"Cor," she says, shaking him. He doesn't respond. Exasperated, her tongue slips. "Shasta!"

His head snaps up, his eyes meeting hers. "What?"

She takes a step back, suddenly very conscious of his bare torso, and  _sweat has never smelled this good_ , and he's looking at her expectantly. Speak, Aravis!

"You all right?"

With a grunt, he gets to his feet. "My manhood is compromised. I have been defeated by a Tarkheena - twice!" He groans and clasps his chest. "I can feel the life draining from me."

Exasperated, she punches his arm.

Five minutes later, he has her pinned on the ground, and she can't say she's unhappy with the situation, even though she lost. He, however, doesn't see anything irregular; as he stands up, he raises his fist above his head in a salute. "Victory!"

"Two to one," she grumbles, rubbing her arms.

He holds out a hand to help her up. "I wasn't myself earlier."

"Oh, so now you use that excuse?"

Bickering, they go in to lunch.

\----------------

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but  _what_?"

King Lune sighs. "Cor is a stubborn lad, as I'm sure you're aware, and I'm afraid the only person he'll consider marrying is you."

Aravis snorts before she can stop herself. "That's not the impression he's given me."

Her friend's father leans forward. "What is it, Aravis?" She avoids his gaze. "Are you worried about the dowry? We don't need to bother with that if it's too much trouble. Is there someone else? Do you --"

"Your Majesty," Aravis interrupts, "I don't want to ruin my friendship with Co -- Prince Cor."

He sighs. "Well, it was worth a shot." He stands, offering her his arm. "You're a sight better than any of his other options, and I hope you know that. You'll be a great asset to whomever you choose to spend your life with."

As they glide downstairs and into the dining room, Aravis wonders why she would want to spend her life with anyone except Hwin, Bree, and Cor. In that order, of course.

\----------------

The next time she sees Cor, he has a bruise on his lip from fighting his brother, and she's shocked at the urge to discover what the bruise tastes like.

He grins ruefully when he sees her. "Can't win every time, hey? Sometimes Corrin knocks me down."

"More often than not, lately," she retorts.

He grabs her by the arm, pulling her against him. She hasn't been this close to him in years; his muscles have changed, grown, and it's disconcerting. "What are you implying?"

She tilts her head, considering. "I don't think I was implying anything. I made myself fairly explicitly clear."

"Did you," he mutters, letting her go. "Why don't you ask what the fights are about?"

"Very well." She doesn't care, but she'll humor him. "What are these ones about?"

"You."

She bites down hard on her tongue to keep herself from releasing a string of Calormene curses. When she can trust herself to speak calmly again, she asks, "Why?"

Cor sighs. "He said if I'm not marrying you, he's thinking of asking you. I said you don't want to marry anyone, and he said you just told me that because you don't want to marry me. That's when I punched him."

Aravis wants to scream. She wants to cry. She wants to punch Corin and give him a hug. She covers her face with her hands and tries to make some sense of what she's feeling. She wants to believe -- but it's not even the most likely explanation.

Cor touches her shoulder. "Aravis?"

Without looking at him, she says, "King Lune thinks I should marry you."

He sighs, and she feels it rumble through her entire body. "I know, he -- you don't have to. You should get to choose, not just be stuck with me because we grew up together."

She lowers her hands, slowly, as though she might drop them. "What did he say to you?"

"He thinks I won't -- there couldn't be a better queen of Archenland than you." He rubs the back of his neck and adds, so softly she almost misses it, "And I agree."

She stares at him. "But you should be free to choose! I mean, just because I'm here and I'm good with a sword doesn't mean I'd be a good queen, or a good wife --"

"Yes, it does, and also I love you, so no one else would be any good." He's smiling, but there's no mirth in his eyes, just something intense that draws her in, and then he adds, "And you're the only one who still calls me Shasta sometimes."

She punches his arm, but there's no force behind it, because she's smiling and crying at the same time, and he pulls her into his arms, and not very much happens for a while, or perhaps everything happens.

Some time later, Cor tilts her chin up so he can meet her eyes. "Marry me, Aravis?"

The tears are threatening to make a reappearance as she nods. He kisses her again, and she whispers "yes" into his mouth, just to make sure.


End file.
